Using Exam Wrappers to Improve Student Outcomes Dr. Senan L. Hayes Western Connecticut State University Mathematical Association of America MathFest Chicago, Illinois July 28, 2017

Overview of Emporium Model The Emporium Model for remediation has proven successful in higher education at various institutions throughout the United States. The professor provides individualized and small group instruction. The traditional “chalk and talk” approach of lecturing, where the student is a receptacle of information, changes to one where the student is constantly engaged and in control of the learning.

Math Emporium at WCSU

Overview of Exam Procedure In the WCSU Math Emporium ALL students take the “same” exam. An algorithm in Pearson’s MyMathLab changes the numbers for individual questions BUT in essence the same questions are asked of everyone. The students had four semester exams and one final exam. All exams were completed in the Emporium. For each exam a student was asked to complete an exam wrapper. Students did not complete an exam wrapper for the final exam.

Overview of Exam Procedure Continued Exams are administered on the computer using the MyMathLab software and work for each question must be written in a traditional Blue exam booklet. Completed exams are collected and reviewed to ensure work is shown and awarded appropriate partial credit. Students do not know their grade at the end of the exam. Graded exams are returned to students for review and then collected again! This is to ensure some semblance of exam integrity.

Overview of Exam Wrappers “Exam wrappers are short activities that direct students to review their performance on an exam with an eye toward adapting their future learning” (Lovette). The exam wrappers that were used in this study are based off of Marsha Lovett’s description of exam wrappers in Using Reflection and Metacognition to Improve Student Learning. When a student takes time to reflect on what they did to succeed or what they didn’t do to succeed, they get a deeper understanding of what to do in the future to achieve success.

Exam Wrappers encourage students to look beyond JUST the grade that they received. They ask the student to reflect on “what mistakes did I make?” “What would I change for future exams?” Etc. The goal of these activities is to encourage student reflection regarding their exam performance and preparation to better prepare for their NEXT exam.

Carol Dweck wrote a book called Mindset: The New Psychology of Success Carol Dweck wrote a book called Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. She explains that people with fixed mindsets feel that they must prove their intelligence regularly and do not believe that they are capable of surpassing their current intelligence. By using exam wrappers, students who have a fixed mindset are encouraged to review their work to achieve better results next time. Exam Wrappers may help students to develop growth mindsets, believing that they are never done learning and have an unknown potential.

Results of Study Grades fluctuated on the four exams. There was not consistent improvement. We believe this may be due to the order of the topics. The Exam Wrappers are supposed to be returned to students before their next exam for review. We did not do this but will in the future uses. Of all exams taken, students studied/prepared by themselves 86.7% of the time. This more than likely a product of the Emporium model and needs to be addressed.

Exam Wrapper Follow Up Question: What mistake(s) did you make on the exam that taught you something? Describe the mistake and tell what you learned from it. Students indicated that they needed to (1) read questions more carefully, (2) to plan more time to study, (3) to slow down when completing questions, and (4) to double check their work.

Exam Wrapper Follow Up Question: Based on your mistakes, what will you do differently in preparing for the next exam? In planning for the next exam, the majority of students stressed that (1) they would “study more,” (2) manage their time better, (3) get more sleep, and (4) complete more Self-Assessments. For the question regarding what can we do to help them master the material, many students replied “nothing” or simply go over particular formulas.

Future Work for Us! Based on research by Carol Dweck on Fixed and Growth mindsets, we plan to incorporate a survey to help students determine their mindset regarding mathematics. We also plan to have workshops/professional development for our faculty teaching within the Emporium focused on Dweck’s research. Finally, we believe that a combination of Exam Wrappers and a focus on Fixed and Growth mindsets will improve student outcomes not only in mathematics but in all classes.

Thank you for your time and attention Thank you for your time and attention. You can contact me at hayess@wcsu.edu